o;er a select number extremely well than a largeramount marginally.”“We take great pains to research the indus-tries, companies and trends for each of the busi-nesses we manage,” says Goforth. “Staying ontarget takes diligence, because the target is con-stantly moving. When prices change or demand;uctuates, we respond. Our response is to dig deepand keep prices low, even when the rest of themarket is going up.”Padilla points out that many other retail outletsand membership clubs might bring a service undertheir umbrella but not monitor the relationshipbetween consumer and provider as Costco does.“Our teams are constantly reaching out to membersand providers for feedback and interceding whennecessary,” he says.

Just as Costco constantly works on improving
products o;ered in warehouses and on Costco.com,
often translating to better-quality items for less
money, so does the Services team.

“When we started with Elavon nearly 20 years
ago, we had industry-leading rates at 1. 64 percent
for quali;ed transactions,” says Goforth. “We keep
reducing rates and eliminating fees over time, and,
in fact, we just reduced transaction rates again to a
historic program low. Combine this with our ongoing Executive member bene;ts and members could
save signi;cant amounts annually. Businesses need
this kind of consistent support to grow and be successful. ;eir success is ours.”

From the providers

Costco Services’ providers are willing to go the
extra mile. ;e length of time these services have
been with Costco is a testament to their getting the
concept of what it means to be part of the Costco
family and to do things the Costco way.

A good example is the Costco Auto Program.“;e main concept of the program is still the same[as it was in the early days]: to bring both value andexperience to the member,” says Gina Paolino, pres-ident of the Costco Auto Program, which has beenpart of Costco Services since 1987. “;e biggestthings that we’ve changed came from how weenhanced the service through the years, and how weimproved the opportunities for members to receivedi;erent bene;ts and services.”She notes that the program initially was fornew cars only. Now it also covers certi;ed pre-owned and select pre-owned—late-model-yearvehicles with the original manufacturer’s war-ranty—as well as discounts on parts, services andaccessories. But more than the proliferation ofo;erings that aim to provide for members throughthe life cycle of a vehicle, there is a strong empha-sis on creating a member buying experience that ispleasurable and remembered.

“We have a team that goes out and evaluates
the experience of the members throughout the
country at dealerships,” Paolino says. “;ey act as if